St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-08-06

they exercised saving faith in the Christ
whom they portrayed upon the canvas
are painters vet, but their strength OF
faculty multiplied ten thousand fold
The reason that God took away their
eye, and their hand, and their brain was
that He might give them something more
timber, more wieldy, more skillful, more
multiplitant.
Do not, therefore, be melancholy
among the tapestries, and the bric-a- brac,
and the embroideries, and the water
colors, and the works of art which your
departed friends used to admire. Do
not say: II am sorry they had to leave
all shese things" Rather say: Il am
glad they have gone up to higher artistic
opportunity and appreciation" Our
friends who found so much Joy in the
fine arts on earth are now Illustrating in
Louvrcs and Luxembourgs celestial.
REMARK again, that all our departed
Christian friends who in this world were
passionately fond of music are still re-
calling that taste in the world celestial
The Bible says so much about the music
of Heaven that it cannot all be tigura-
tive. The Bible over and over again
speaks of the songs of Heaven. If Heaven
had no songs of its own vast number
of those of earth would have been taken
up by the earthly emigrants Surely the
| Christian at death does not lose his men,
Dry. Then there must be millions of
| souls in Heaven who know coronation,
and antioch" and Mount Pisgah," and
"Old Hundred" The leader of the eter-
nal orchestra need only once tap his
baton and all Heaven will be ready for
the hallelujah.
: Cannot the soul sing? How often we
| compliment some exquisite singer by
saying: There was so much soul in her
music" In Heaven it will be all soul
until the body after while comes up in
the resurrection, and then there will be
an additional Heaven. Cannot the soul
hear? If it can hear then it can hear
music. Do not, therefore, let it be in
your household when some member
leaves for Heaven as it is in some house.
holds, that you close the piano and
unstring the harp for two years, because
the fingers that used to play on them are
still. You must remember that they
have better instruments of music where
they are.
You ask me: "Do they have real
harps and real trumpets and real
organs?" l do not know. Some wise
acres say positively there are no such
things in Heaven. l do not know, but I
should not be surprised if the God who
made all the mountains and all the hills
and all the forests and all the metals of
the earth and all the growths of the uni
verse; should not be surprised if He
could, if He had mind to, make few
harps and trumpets and organs.
Grand old Haydn, sick and worn out,
was carried for the last time into the
music hall and there he heard his own
oratorio of the Creation" History says
that as the orchestra came to that famous
passage: Let there be light!' the whole
audience rose and cheered, and Haydn
waved his hand toward Heaven and
said: ut comes from there" Over
whelmed with his own music, he was
carried out in his chair, and as he came
to the door he spread his hand toward
the orchestra as in benediction.
Haydn was right when he waved his
hand toward Heaven and said: ut comes
from there"
Music was born in Heaven and it will |
ever have its highest throne in Heaven;
and want you to understand that our
departed friends who were passionately |
fond of music here are now at the head |
quarters of harmony. I think that the |
grand old church tunes that died when |
your grandfathers died have gone with |
them to Heaven.
Again, remark that those of our de-
parted Christian friends who in this
world had very strong military spirit are
now in armies celestial and out on blood
less battle. There are hundreds of peo-
pie born soldiers. They cannot help it,
They belong to regiments in time of
peace. They cann& hear drum or fife
without trying to keep step to the music.
They are Christians, and when they fight
they fight on the right side Now when
these, our Christians friends who had
natural and powerful military spirit, en-
tered Heaven they entered the celestial
army.
The door of Heaven hardly opens but
you hear a military demonstration.
David cried out: 'The chariots of God
are twenty thousand" Elisha saw the
mountains filled with celestial cavalry.
St. John said: "The armies which are in
Heaven followed him on white horses"
Now, when those who had the military
spirit on earth sanctified entered glory,
suppose they right away enlisted in
ome heavenly campaign; they vol
right away. There must needs
,e in Heaven soldiers with soldierly
pirit. There are grand parade days
when the King reviews the troops.
There must be armed escort sent out to
ring up from earth to Heaven those
Who were more than conquerors. There
must be crusades ever being fitted out
or some part of Gods dominion-bat-
les, bloodless, groanless, painless
lngels of evil to be fought down and
ought back. Other rebellious worlds to
e conquered. Worlds to be put to the
orch. Worlds to be saved. Worlds to
e demolished. Worlds to be sunk.
Worlds to be hoisted.
Beside that, in our own world there
re battles for the right and against the
'rong where we must have the heavenly
Military. That is what keeps us Chris
an reformers so buoyant So few
God men against so many bad men, SO ,
w churches against SO many grog
hops, so few pure printing presses
yainst so many polluted printing
resses; and yet we are buoyant and
because while we know that &
he armies of evil in the world are larger
/ numbers than the army Of the truth,
lere are celestial cohorts in the air {
nsI